title: A silent patent ductus arteriosus: a culprit or an innocent bystander?
abstract: A 4-mm patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) was serendipitously diagnosed during intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography for a noncardiac procedure in an obese adult patient with a history of decreased exercise tolerance and dyspnea, despite a negative preoperative transthoracic examination. This uncommon event poses questions regarding the relevance of this finding to the differential diagnosis of dyspnea in an obese adult with a negative transthoracic echocardiography study, given the unknown prevalence of this pathology and the absence of consensus regarding the clinical management.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida.
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gologorsky
authors.forename: Jadelis
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Giquel
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gologorsky
keywords: adult congenital heart disease; echocardiography; education (all levels); heart failure; imaging (all modalities); patent ductus arteriosus (patent arterial duct)